Bristol VIP Sir Kenneth Grange

The 40th Anniversary of the High Speed Train will be celebrated in style this Bank Holiday Monday at Great Western Railway’s Bristol St.Philips Marsh public Open Day. Special guest will be Sir Kenneth Grange, designer of the styling and livery of both Prototype and Production HSTs back in the 1970s. This is a rare opportunity to see inside a major train maintenance depot and to meet the man behind the iconic 125 nosecone. Sir Kenneth is Honorary President of 125 Group and will be signing autographs in return for donations to the event charity Springboard Opportunity Group.

Many locomotives will be on view, including 41001 and HSTs of different operators, also at about 11.30 a special livery will be unveiled plus a naming which no 125 fan will want to miss. The non-passenger convoy of Virgin’s 43300 + Network Rail’s 43013 + Grand Central’s 43423 + Virgin’s First Class coach 41190 has arrived safely at Derby Etches Park and transit is expected to continue on Sunday as planned, see previous posting for details.

A few tickets are still available to buy on-line plus there will be a limited number on sale at the gate (cash only), for more information and to book tickets CLICK HERE.